The Commanders’ two-game win streak isn’t pretty — but it’s real originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
LANDOVER, Md. — The Commanders have captured two victories in a row. Or have the victories captured them?
Either way, Washington presently owns a 3-4 record after Sunday’s 23-21 win over the Green Bay Packers, which means their season is very much still relevant, even if the process to get to this point has been clunky — and that may be generous.
After squeaking by the Bears in Week 6 — squeaking by a real bear is impressive, but squeaking by Chicago’s NFL team isn’t — Ron Rivera’s club slogged through a lengthy and laborious first half versus Green Bay at Fedex Field.
In those 30 minutes, Taylor Heinicke tossed a pick-six and, if it weren’t for a blessing of a defensive holding penalty, would’ve been responsible for a fumble-six, too. The Commanders also failed to capitalize on a muffed punt by the Packers and, lastly, saw Joey Slye slam a field goal off of the right upright. A Heinicke-to-Antonio Gibson touchdown was the primary highlight for Rivera’s club.
Somehow, though, the hosts faced just a four-point deficit upon entering the locker room. Aaron Rodgers throwing for only 46 yards at that juncture definitely helped.
From there, to Washington’s credit, the effort and execution improved.
Heinicke linked up with Terry McLaurin for a 37-yard scoring strike on the fifth snap of the third quarter to stake his side to a 17-14 advantage. On the offense’s next possession, the unit used 16 plays and nearly nine minutes of the clock before Slye converted an attempt to further increase the lead.
Then, in the fourth quarter, the Commanders defense prevented a Rodgers completion on a fourth-and-1. Rodgers, who earlier in the contest was spotted by cameras asking no one in particular, “What the (expletive) are we doing?” didn’t have a very pleasant afternoon on the road. Slye booted in a chip shot to make it 23-14, and a sick but ultimately pointless Rodgers touchdown pushed the final to 23-21.
Probably the most encouraging aspect of the tilt was Brian Robinson Jr. and Antonio Gibson keying a productive rushing attack. Together, they turned their 30 carries into 133 yards and, if the franchise is to actually compete into November and beyond, those two — plus McLaurin, who was so clutch on Sunday — look like the players that will lead the way. Between them and a slowly-but-absolutely improving defense, some momentum does exist.
Now, was Heinicke a legitimate upgrade over Carson Wentz, who broke his finger in the first leg of this winning streak? The answer after the early going would’ve been a definite “no,” but with how Heinicke finished, perhaps a timid ‘yes’ is fair. The team hadn’t eclipsed 20 on the scoreboard since Week 2, after all.
Now, are the Bears or the Packers any good? That’s a rhetorical question that does deserve a definite “no,” as the former appears as lost as ever while Rodgers’ group is uncharacteristically disorganized and toothless at 3-4 themselves.
Now, will Rivera, Heinicke, McLaurin or anyone else associated with the organization necessarily care that their own climb back to 3-4 has been more shaky than surefire? Of course not.
The takeaway for them is that they’re one more triumph away from a .500 mark, which would place them firmly in the NFC Wild Card picture.
The operation isn’t all that pretty and the ceiling still feels rather low, but the vibes sure as hell feel better than they did a short while ago.
